According to types of data, such as characters, a table and an image, the structure defining the data and editing operations performed for the data vary, and therefore various application programs appropriate for various types of data have been provided. Accordingly, a user who utilizes such data is required to use different applications according to the type of data, such as a character-processing program for editing characters, a spreadsheet program for editing a table, and an image-editing program for editing an image.
As described above, it is common that a user uses different application programs according to types of data. However, a document created by a user is generally a document consisting of multiple types of data, such as characters and tables, characters and images and the like rather than a document consisting of only a single type of data, such as only characters, only tables, only images and the like. Accordingly, in order to create a desired document including multiple types of data, the user has to utilize printing functions provided for various applications to print each data with each application and then combine the printed materials in a desired order.
Alternatively, there is a program called “Office Suite” forming an integrated application with various applications, which provides a function of combining data generated by the applications to construct a document. By using this integrated application, the user can integrate data created with the applications into one document using a particular application included in the integrated application.
Traditionally, such an integrated application provides a function of registering information, such as page layout, output paper, and single-sided/two-sided/bookbinding, set for an edited document with a client as a template in advance. When creating a new document, a user can select a template with desired settings from among several registered patterns of templates and thereby easily edit the document file.
The template can be converted and stored into a file. The user can create a new template file or modify existing template data. There is also provided a function of importing/exporting a template file which enables such a template file to be taken out to or brought in from a different PC.
However, in a prior-art system, the only way for a user to create such a template is to modify the settings for an existing template supplied for an application to change property values to desired ones, or create and register a new template with default values (for example, settings such as “1 UP”, “single-sided”, “without finishing” and the like) as initial values. Actually, however, the user has often already made necessary settings for a document file beforehand. Therefore, if he wants to create a template using the settings for the exiting document file, he has to make the same editing settings for the template again as those set for the document file to create the template.